Sunday wrap-up

Well, we made it through week one of the new year!  it really feels like it has been longer than that for me.  I managed to make it to the gym 5 days this week, and A and I went skiing on Monday.  This week definitely had its ups and downs.  While I did great on my work-outs, I ate out more than I had intended, and I felt really stressed out all week.  Oh, and in case you all are wondering:

(cue up the biggest loser ominous weigh-in music) My current weight is 159.6 lbs.  I'll be talking more about that and my weight loss goals later this week.  But as promised, I want to tell you about how the last meal planning Monday's meals turned out!

We went out to dinner twice last week, and last night neither of us was hungry.  I cooked 3 dinners this week, and then I cooked lunch today, and plan to do dinner today as well.  We are saving the slow cooker cabbage soup for this week, so I will only have to pick out 5 additional meals.  Without further ado, here are my comments on the 4 that I did make so far:

Mushroom and Bulgar pilaf:  The store did not have Bulgar, so I substituted pearled barley instead.  I cooked the kale twice (steamed, then sauteed), and it came out really tender.  I liked how it was a filling meal without having to rely on meat.

Linguine with cherry tomatoes and 5-herb pesto:  I made to take to A's mom's house for lunch today, and we had it with sandwiches.  I had some yellow cherry tomatoes in my fridge that I had gotten on sale, and they worked well in the dish.  My tarragon I bought for the pesto went bad before I could make it, so instead I added some extra spinach to bulk things up without taking away from the green, fresh, flavor.  I also used orzo, becfause I had it on hand, and I like the way it works with a small pasta instead of a noodle.

Fearless Fried chicken:  I love fried chicken.  It is one of my favorite meals of all time.  This one did not do it for me.  I don't know if it was the coating, or just the fact that it was not fried, but something in this was off.  Bummer.

Barbell burgers:  Again, not one of my favorite burgers.  It had a lot of tomato paste in it, which made me think more of meatloaf than a burger.  A really wanted salad, so we had salad instead of fries.  I would make these again, but I don't think I would add the tomato paste.

Tonight we are making the meatloaf.  A is not the biggest fan of meatloaf, but I confess that it is one of my personal faves, so hopefully this recipe does not disappoint!  We are also gearing up for another great week of home-cooked meals!  Did you have a favorite meal that you tried this week?  Were you able to stick to your goals, or was it really hard?  What are you using as your motivation to succeed this week?